Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Bars

Before I get to the recipe I want to say thank you for all the kind comments on my last post. Eric is doing much better. His cough has not returned and he seems to be back to normal. He woke up a lot last night but he has been napping great today. Hopefully there won't be any more hospital trips any time soon!
Now back to our regularly scheduled pumpkin-palooza! Okay, so I'm not quite sure it can be classified as a palooza, but it sounds cool! These pumpkin spice bars were so delicious! I really enjoyed them and so did the people I pawned them off on. Thank goodness I have people ready and willing to take my baked goods or else I would be the world's largest woman!!!

One note about these bars... they were MUCH better after sitting in the fridge overnight. The weren't bad room temperature, but I think they improved after a good chill.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Bars
Recipe from The Recipe Girl

1 ¾ cups pure pumpkin puree
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole- wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¾ cup mini- chocolate chips

FROSTING:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 Tbs butter, softened
2 tsp milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ cup mini- chocolate chips (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10x15-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugars until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Toss in mini chocolate chips and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan coated with nonstick spray. Bake until the center springs back when lightly pressed in the center- about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until smooth. Frost bars and sprinkle with additional mini chocolate chips.